Lid balancing hinge and support



W. O. BURKE LID BALANCING HINGE AND SUPPORT May 19, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 19, 1948 n 1m m a J LUZ/[6 am ur'll fz W. O. BURKE LID BALANCING HINGE AND SUPPORT May 19, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19, 1948 11 51154010. fiarfi'e/ Patented May 19,1953

umTsosmTE-s PATENT OFFICE William 0. Burke, Rockford, Ill., assignor to National Look 00., "Rockford, 111. a corporation of Delaware Application May 19, 948, Serial No. 28,010

. 1 .The invention pertains to hinge devices for heavy lids, covers and other objects wherever it is necessary or desirable either to effect reduction of the force required to. overcome the effective weight or other resistance of a hinged lid, cover or other object, or to balance such weight. or resistance, or. to overcome and exceed such weight or resistance. Hinges of this character are com monly referred to as of the self-balancing lid type and have a wide'variety of uses, for instance, as wherethey. are applied to chest type cabinets such as frozen food and similar storage containers. The inventionwillfbe disclosed herein in its application to a frozen foodrefrigeration or storage cabinet of the chest type.

One of the primary objects ofthe invention is to provide a strong but economical and easily manufactured and installed hinge of the character mentioned, which will not only serve the usual purposes of a hinge but, which also mayserve to counterbalance in whole or in part the weight and leverage forces ofthe cabinet lid or cover or,"

if desired, which may ',overbalance the forces (other than external forces) tending to. close the lid, thereby. to aid and facilitate raising thelid, holding it open and easing it ,to closed position. It will be understood, of course, that in most cases and at least in those cases where the hinge is designed to overbalancethe weighted lever effect of the lid, the chest or other structure mayv be equipped with a positive. latch to; secure the lid in its closed position, perhaps, with appropriate stop or check mechanism. to flprevent the lid from opening toofast or,to'o far wherever such means may be-needed,

Another important objectof. the-invention is to provide a spring actuated. mechanism for. a hinge of the character. specified, of simplified construction and arrangement whereby to mini mize the number of parts, the material required and the labor involved in manufacturing it while maintaining the requisite strength for the duty it is to perform. Many other objects including the provision of mechanism to adapt the spring loaded hinge to differentweights and leverage conditions and various purposes as well as the advantages and uses of .the invention will be or should become apparent and understood after reading the following descriptionand claims, and after viewing the drawings inwhich: I

Fig. I is an isometric view-of a'chest type frozen food cabinet, as the same would'appear viewed from the rear; with; the preferred-form: of the hinge of the invention hereof applied thereto;

..- g-'2;.is a a g sca e ew 'of-ohe of the'hin s- '2'Claim's. (Cl. Iii- 138) i used for raising the lid.

shown in Fig. 1 as viewed in rear elevation, showing the same as it appears applied to the cabinet, only a fragment of the cabinet being shown;

Fig.3 .is a viewer the preferred hinge in vertical or longitudinal section, the view being on the same scale as that of Fig. 2, illustrating the positions of the hinge parts when the cabinet lidis in fully closed position, the'position of some of the hinge parts, when the lid is fully raised, being indicatedin dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to the view of Fig. 3 showing the cabinet lid fully opened and the corresponding position of the hinge parts;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are transverse sectional views taken respectively along the section lines 5-5, 6-6 and 1-1 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3 showing a modified form of the hinge as applied to a cabinet of the same type as that previously mentioned; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are transverse sectional views taken respectively along section lines 99 and Illof Fig. 8. v

Refrigeration cabinets of the so-called deep freeze"'type used for the storage of frozen foods are of substantial construction and both the container proper and the lid or cover are usually very heavy indeed. The lids for such cabinets must make a certain and close fit with the container portions to which they are hinged, and generally some latch or catch mechanism is provided for securing the lid to the container or receptacle part. A handle incorporated as part of the latch or catch mechanism or separate therefrom. is

' Since the lids of cabinets of this character are heavy and commonly are hinged along their rear edges they are not only hard to lift but also dangerous, as they could cause serious injury shouldthey be allowed to fall freely and unchecked. Often the cabinets are of such size that the lids are very broad from front to rear thereby giving the effect of very long lever arms which, with the lid weight, can build up a very substantial force between the open and closed positions of the lid. This force not only resists openin but also requires the' user to exert considerable resisting force on closing the lid down in order to prevent it from slamming and doing injury to both person and property. It therefore becomes'desirable, if not absolutely necessary, to provide mechanism which will relieve some of the external force otherwise necessarily applied to effect opening or'raising of the lid and to rethe weight-lever force of the lid in a free fall to closed or shut position.

The chest type refrigeration cabinet illustrated is composed of two primary parts, namely, the receptacle or container proper designated H and a cover or lid generally designated 12. Since the view is from the rear the hinges for the lid, generally designated 13, two innumber, are to ;be seen but .the latch andhandle by'which the lid may be secured and raised, respectively, are unseen. While a cabinet of the type illustrated might be of such size and relative proportions that a single hinge would be suflicient, it is'prefei able in most instances to use two hinges as chosen in this instance for eXemplification, or three or more hinges may be employed if the size and construction of the cabinet so warrant. 7

Each hinge comprises what may be termed a hinge base member 14 of U-shape in cross section, portions of the side walls of which may be flared outwardly to provide flanges l slotted as at 16 for the reception of bolts, screws or studs [1 whereby to secure the base member to the cabinet part H, and a hinge wing member [8 also of generally U-shape in crosss'ection with integral flanges I9 extending from its side walls at one end for seating against the back edge of the lid l2. Elongated slots 2| .similarto the slots l6 except that they extend transversely of the direction in which the slots 1 6 extend are adapted to receive bolts, screws or studs 22 for attachment of the hinge Wing member to the back edge of the lid. The slots 16 permit vertical adjustment of a hinge base member .to permit the hinge pivot axis to be positidned in proper relation to the parting line between. the chest proper and its lid, while the elongated slots 2| permit such lateral adjustment of the hinge wing member relative to the base member as may be necessary due to variations in construction. Manufactur ing methods usually dictate the .pre-location and pro-formation of the holes in both chest proper and lid where the hinge securing bolts or screws are to be placed and, therefore, result in some inequalities for which compensation must be pr0- vided. Each hinge, base and wing member, of course, must, be properly related to the cabinet receptacle portion and its lid, but also to every other 1 hinge with which the chest may be equipped.

The two parts or" the hinge, that is, the base member I 4 and the wing member 18 are attached together by a pivot or pintle pin 23 which may be secured to either of the members or to; neither of them and secured against displacement in any suitable manner, as by having its outer ends riveted over or spread as indicated at 24. Preferably, the pivot pin 23 is secured against rotation in the opposite side walls 25 of the hinge base member M and the hinge wing member pivots thereon, the side walls 26 of the win member being punched and drawn at the pivot pin locations so as to provide inwardly projecting circumferentially extending flanges 21 thereby to provide substantial bearing surfaces for pivotal engagement with the pivot pin.23. This construction is best illustrated in Fig. 5. Extending transversely through the side walls 25 of the hinge base member is what may be termed a pin abutment 28, one end of which may be provided with a head 29 and the end of which may be drilled for reception of a cotter key 3|. Internally projecting circumferential flanges 32 formed afterv the manner of flanges '21 provide a substantial bearing surface for the pin abutment will be noted, are disposed between the side walls upon pin abutment 33.

abutment 28. The guide washer 42 is slotted 25 of the base member and must swing in an are between the latter.

, A rod link 35 is flattened as indicated at 36 and-slotted as indicated at 31 at one end for reception of pin abutment 2B, and at its other end is threaded as indicated at 38 and transversely drilled as indicated at 39 for pivotal mounting The arrangement is such that the rod link 35 may both pivot on the pin abutments 28 and 33, and ride upwardly and downwardly on the pin abutment 28 between the limits of the elongated slot 31. This arrangement is provided so that the rod link 35 and its associated parts to be described may move freely from the full line position shown in Fig. 3 to the full line position shown in Fig. 4 corresponding to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 3, as the wing and base members of the hinge move relatively to one another about the hinge pin or pintle 23.

Surrounding the rod link'35 is a coil compression spring 4! which, at its lower end, is abutted and rests against a spring guide washer 42 which, in turn, rests upon or is abutted against the pin as indicated at 43 for free passage of the flattened portion 36 of the rod link 35 and may have lateral nibs or extensions M to provide stability and a greater line or area of bearing against the in abutment 28. At its upper end the spring 4! is housed within a cup-shaped cover 45 which is freely slidable longitudinally of the rod link, and. which abuts against an adjustable abutment member 46 which has an upstanding flange or collar 41 provided with internal threads for threaded engagement with the threads on the upper end of the rod link '35. The adjustable member 46 may be notched as indicated at 48 for engagement by a wrench or tool whereby it may be rotated to increase or decrease the initial compression of spring 4| or to vary the effectiveness of the spring for different lid sizes, weights and leverages or to produce various operating effects or forces of balance, overbalance and underbalance of the load imposed by the lid. In the ordinary arrangement, the spring will be under practically zero compression when the upper end of the collar or flange M is engaged by the abutment pin 33 at the upper limit of travel of the adjustable abutment member 46. When the adjustable abutment member 46 is rotated in such direction as to cause it to travel away from pin 33, the housing or cover '45 will be moved toward abutment pin 28 and the spring will be placed under increasingly greater compression.

It will be observed that the arrangement and location of the pin abutment 33 with respect to the pivot or pintle pin 23 and the lid l2 provides a lever of the third class, that is, the applied force of the spring 4| is situated between the fulcrum provided by the pivot pin 23 and the work provided by the weight and leverage of the lid of the cabinet. When-the lid is closed, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the spring II is under its maximum compression and is constantly tending to swing the hinge wing member and the lid [2 in a clockwise direction viewing Figs. 3 and 4 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4. As the lid rises the spring 4| expands and the spring assembly moves toward the cabinet as the pin abutment 33 swings clockwise about the pivot pin 23, the rod link 35 pivoting about the pin 33 at its upper end, and at its lower end not only pivoting about the pin 28 but also having translational movement with respect thereto by reason of the slot 31. The length of the rod link, the length of the spring and the length of slot 31 together with the proportions and arrangements of the other parts will be such that when the lid of the cabinet has been raised to an extent such that its leverage is relatively low (approximately zero) and its center of weight or gravity is substantially close to a vertical position over the hinge pin 23, the further opening movement of the lid will be stopped by engagement of the pin 28 with the lower end of the slot ill and in this position the forces tending to move the lid to closed position will be substantially in balance. Of course it is possible, and in some instances might be desirable, to have the spring 4| continue to exert a substantial force tending to hold the lid open after it has reached its fully opened (in this instance approximately seventy-five degrees of movement) position, so that a positive pressure or pull must initially be exerted against the lid to move it to closed position from its fully opened position. As the lid moves toward closed position its weight-leverage efiect becomes increasingly greater with every increment of movement downwardly, but at the same time and at substantially the same rate the compression and, therefore, the resistance of spring 4| increases and resists or opposes this force. The opposite efiect develops as the lid is raised as will be understood. Accordingly, a hinge constructed as described not only assists in the raising of a heavy lid by reducing the force necessarily applied by the user to open it, but also restrains the lid in its closing movement so that it may not slam with possible injury to the cabinet or the person of the user.

The modified form illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 varies from the form above described only in the omission of an adjustment for one of the spring abutments and the construction and arrangement of the link between the hinge base member and the hinge wing member. In this case the pin abutment 33' directly engages the spring housing or cover 45' which at its upper end has an elongated slot 49 for the passage of a fiat bar link 35', the lower end of which is slotted at 31 for reception of the lower pin abutment 28. A spring guide washer 42' rests upon the pin abutment 28' and is constructed after the manner of washer 42, The operation, except for adjustment of the spring compression, is the same as or similar to the operation of the previously described form.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Consequently, I desire to be limited only by the inventions spirit and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A combined hinge and support for hingedly mounting a lid upon a cabinet, consisting of a hollow hinge base member adapted to be mounted on the exterior of the cabinet, a hollow hinge wing member adapted to be mounted upon the exterior of the lid, a pintle for pivotally connecting the hinge wing member to the base member whereby the lid ma be moved to open or closed position, a link enclosed within the base member, a pin abutment carried by the wing member and pivotally connecting one end of the link to the wing member in spaced relation to and between said pintle and the cabinet, the other end of said link being provided with an elongated slot, a spring abutment projecting through the slot and mounted in the side walls of the base member whereby the link is adapted to pivot within the base member about the spring abutment and is also longitudinally movable in the base member for the length of the slot, a cup-shaped member slidably mounted on the link adjacent the pin abutment and a compression spring encompassing the link and having one end received in the cup-shaped member and the other end bearing against the spring abutment.

2. A combined hinge and support for a relatively heavy lid providing a closure for a container, comprising a pair of hinge members substantially U-shaped in cross section, one of which is adapted to be secured to the exterior of the lid and the other adapted to be secured to the exterior of the container and a pivotal connection therebetween to permit the lid to be moved to open or closed position, a pin abutment provided in the hinge member of the lid, a link mounted within the hinge member of the container and between the cabinet and the pivotal connection of the hinge members, said link being pivotally connected at one end to said pin abutment and provided at its other end with an elongated slot, a spring abutment provided in the hinge member of the container and disposed in the elongated slot in the end of the link whereby this end of the link has pivotal and translational connection with the hinge member of the container, a member adjustably mounted on the link adjacent the pin abutment, and a compression spring encompassing the link member and hearing at one end against the adjustable member and at its opposite end against the spring abutment, said adjustable member being adjustable to vary the initial compression on the spring, to vary the effectiveness of the spring for difierent sizes and weights of lids and to produce different operating effects of the load imposed by the lid.

WILLIAM O. BURKE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 829,385 Brennan Aug. 28, 1906 2,244,168 Miller June 3, 1941 2,279,992 Jackson et al Apr. 14, 1942 2,483,306 Walpole Sept. 27, 1949 2,500,057 Borgerd et a1. Mar. 7, 1950 

